Saturday, December 16, the SEIU 1021 Executive Board voted to adopt a resolution calling for a ceasefire, humanitarian aid, and an end to the occupation of Palestine.

The resolution reads in part: ”[G]iven our history of standing up for the rights of the oppressed and working classes around the world, we encourage members and community to learn about the region, to better understand the historical context, so together we build empathy and compassion to deepen our humanity and strengthen our fight for justice.”

It commits the union to “defend members’ and staff’s rights to freedom of expression, including support for Palestinian liberation, and protect them from workplace discrimination and retaliation. We advocate for the dignity and safety of members and all people, so that no one is discriminated against because of their identity, ethnicity, religious affiliation, or allyship, in the fight for human rights, equity, and justice.”

1021 members also took this position to the streets, calling for a ceasefire at a protest in Oakland’s Frank Ogawa / Oscar Grant Plaza.

Linda Khoury-Unili spoke at the rally, saying, “As working-class people in the United States, we have the unique opportunity to stop the war machine that is destroying families, robbing human beings of their dreams and futures, and that is planting the seeds of future conflict.

“We here today are joining the millions of people around the world, working-class people, people who care about human rights, to send to the United States and Israel the message that the workers of the world are uniting against this atrocious genocide.”

Longtime SEIU 1021 member Martha Hawthorne said, “I’m so proud of our executive board, which passed this resolution on December 16. The very day it passed, 1021 members joined the Labor for Palestine rally at Oscar Grant Plaza, along with many local unions, including Oakland Education Association, UAW local 2865, IFPTE 21, and United Educators of SF to call for an immediate permanent ceasefire and stopping military aid to Israel.”  

Other unions, including the United Auto Workers, have taken similar actions in recent weeks.